Uplink Designs For New Radio Unlicensed Spectrum

ABSTRACT

Various examples and schemes pertaining to uplink (UL) designs for New Radio (NR) unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) operation in mobile communications are described. An apparatus as a user equipment (UE) receives, from a network node, a scheduling of a plurality of starting slots for an UL transmission by the apparatus. The apparatus performs a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure and, based on a result of the LBT procedure, the apparatus performs the UL transmission with an initial slot of the UL transmission in one of the plurality of starting slots.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION(S)

The present disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claimingthe priority benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/738,045, filed on28 Sep. 2018, the content of which being incorporated by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to wireless communicationsand, more particularly, to uplink (UL) designs for New Radio (NR)unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) operation in mobile communications.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this sectionare not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted asprior art by inclusion in this section.

Under the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications,physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission by a user equipment(UE) is necessary for standalone NR-U operation. The transmission ofphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) should not block the transmission of a PRACH preamble.However, in situations in which a first UE is to perform a PUSCH orPUCCH transmission to a network node (e.g., gNB) of a mobile networkwhen a second UE is to transmit a PRACH preamble to the network node,there may be an issue with the transmission of the PUSCH/PUCCH by thefirst UE blocking the transmission of PRACH by the second UE, and viceversa, when propagation delays between the first UE and the second UEand between the second UE and the network node are unknown to thenetwork node. Therefore, there is a need for a solution to address thisissue for NR-U operation.

Additionally, under current 3GPP specification, the payload size of NRPUCCH format 0/1 tends to be small (with only one or two bits), and NRPUCCH format 0/1/4 occupies merely one physical resource block (PRB).Moreover, the multiplexing capacity of NR PUCCH format 2/3 is merely 1(i.e., only one PUCCH on the same resource). Thus, the resource mappingneeds to be modified to allow for a more efficient way for uplinkcontrol information (UCI) transmission.

SUMMARY

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to belimiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided tointroduce concepts, highlights, benefits and advantages of the novel andnon-obvious techniques described herein. Select implementations arefurther described below in the detailed description. Thus, the followingsummary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimedsubject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope ofthe claimed subject matter.

In one aspect, a method may involve a processor of an apparatusreceiving from a network node a scheduling of a plurality of startingslots for an UL transmission by the apparatus. The method may alsoinvolve the processor performing a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure.The method may further involve the processor performing the ULtransmission with an initial slot of the UL transmission in one of theplurality of starting slots based on a result of the LBT procedure.

In one aspect, a method may involve a processor of an apparatusdetecting an existence of any preamble transmitted by another apparatus.Based on a result of the detecting, the method may involve the processorperforming an LBT procedure followed by an UL transmission responsive toa preamble transmitted by one other apparatus being detected.Alternatively, based on the result of the detecting, the method mayinvolve the processor performing the UL transmission without firstperforming the LBT procedure responsive to no preamble being detected.

It is noteworthy that, although description provided herein may be inthe context of certain radio access technologies, networks and networktopologies such as NR, the proposed concepts, schemes and anyvariation(s)/derivative(s) thereof may be implemented in, for and byother types of radio access technologies, networks and networktopologies such as, for example and without limitation, 5^(th)Generation (5G), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-AdvancedPro and any future-developed networks and technologies. Thus, the scopeof the present disclosure is not limited to the examples describedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate implementationsof the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the disclosure. It is appreciable that the drawingsare not necessarily in scale as some components may be shown to be outof proportion than the size in actual implementation in order to clearlyillustrate the concept of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example network environment in which varioussolutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may beimplemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example scenario in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an example scenario in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example communication environment inaccordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example scenario of PUSCH being blocked byPRACH.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an example scenario of PRACH being blocked byPUSCH.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example scenario of PRACH being not blocked byPUSCH in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED IMPLEMENTATIONS

Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject mattersare disclosed herein. However, it shall be understood that the disclosedembodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimedsubject matters which may be embodied in various forms. The presentdisclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments andimplementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodimentsand implementations are provided so that description of the presentdisclosure is thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope ofthe present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the descriptionbelow, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted toavoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments andimplementations.

Overview

Implementations in accordance with the present disclosure relate tovarious techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions pertaining to ULdesigns for NR-U operation in mobile communications. According to thepresent disclosure, a number of possible solutions may be implementedseparately or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions may bedescribed below separately, two or more of these possible solutions maybe implemented in one combination or another.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which varioussolutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may beimplemented. The following description of various proposed schemes isprovided with reference to FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, network environment 100 may involve a first UE 110(denoted as “UE0” in FIG. 1), a second UE 120 (denoted as “UE1” in FIG.1), and a network node 130 (denoted as “gNB” in FIG. 1, although networknode 130 may also be an eNB or a transmit/receive point (TRP)) of awireless network (e.g., 5G/NR mobile network). In network environment100, each of first UE 110 and second UE 120 may be configured toimplement various schemes pertaining to UL designs for NR-U operation inmobile communications in accordance with the present disclosure, asdescribed below.

For better appreciation of advantages and benefits provided by variousproposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure, consideringfirst a case with the following assumptions with respect to networkenvironment 100: (1) time t₀ is the propagation delay between first UE110 and network node 130; (2) time t₁ is the propagation delay betweensecond UE 120 and network node 130; (3) time t₂ is the propagation delaybetween first UE 110 and second UE 120; (4) t₀ is known to network node130 but t₀ and t₂ are unknown to network node 130; (5) first UE 110 hasPUSCH or PUCCH to be transmitted; and (6) second UE 120 has PRACHpreamble to be transmitted, with the PRACH preamble occupying twelveorthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (15 kHz) andstarting from second OFDM symbols. However, due to the unknownpropagation delays t₁ and t₂, the transmission of PUSCH/PUCCH by firstUE 110 may block the transmission of PRACH by second UE 120, and viceversa. For illustration, FIG. 7 illustrates an example scenario 700 ofPUSCH being blocked by PRACH, and FIG. 8 illustrates an example scenario800 of PRACH being blocked by PUSCH.

Part (A) of FIG. 7 shows the timing at network node 130 (denoted as“gNB”) and part (B) of FIG. 7 shows the timing at first UE 110 (denotedas “UE0”). Referring to FIG. 7, in this example, it is assumed thatsecond UE 120 chooses the random access channel (RACH) resource in slotn to transmit a PRACH preamble, and network node 130 schedules thePUSCH/PUCCH (denoted as “PUXCH” in FIG. 7) of first UE 110 from slot n+1to slot n+3. To align the timing at network node 130, first UE 110 willstart the transmission of PUSCH/PUCCH at time t+T_(slot)−t₀, withT_(slot) being the slot duration. As second UE 120 does not know itstiming advance, transmission of the PRACH preamble is started from timet+2*T_(OFDM)+t₁, with T_(OFDM) being an OFDM symbol time. Since PRACH istransmitted by second UE 120 before the scheduled PUSCH/PUCCHtransmission, the transmission of PUSCH/PUCCH by first UE 110 is blockedby the PRACH.

Part (A) of FIG. 8 shows the timing at network node 130 (denoted as“gNB”) and part (B) of FIG. 8 shows the timing at second UE 120 (denotedas “UE1”). Referring to FIG. 8, in this example, it is assumed thatsecond UE 120 chooses the RACH resource in slot n to transmit a PRACHpreamble, and network node 130 schedules the PUSCH/PUCCH (denoted as“PUXCH” in FIG. 8) of first UE 110 from slot n to slot n+3. To align thetiming at network node 130, first UE 110 will start the transmission ofPUSCH/PUCCH at time t−t₀. As second UE 120 does not know its timingadvance, transmission of the PRACH preamble is started from timet+2*T_(OFDM)+t₁, with T_(OFDM) being an OFDM symbol time. SincePUSCH/PUCCH is transmitted by first UE 110 before the scheduled PRACHtransmission, the transmission of PRACH by second UE 120 is blocked bythe PUSCH/PPUCCH.

To prevent the above-described situations from happening, variousproposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may involvenetwork node 130 configuring multiple starting transmission positions(or time slots) for PUSCH/PUCCH transmission and first UE 110 decidingin which of the multiple starting transmission positions (or time slots)to start the PUSCH/PUCCH transmission based on a result of LBT.Moreover, various proposed schemes in accordance with the presentdisclosure may involve first UE 110 using a preamble to inform other UEs(e.g., second UE 120) that the current PUSCH/PUCCH transmission is forthe same cell/network node (e.g., network node 130) with which the otherUEs are associated.

With respect to the issue of PUSCH/PUCCH transmission being blocked byPRACH transmission, it is plausible that there may be some gaps in thebeginning of the PUSCH/PUCCH transmission, which may be achieved byscheduling from network node 130. However, this may lead to a waste ofresources in an event that second UE 120 does not choose slot n totransmit the PRACH preamble. Thus, to achieve an efficient ULtransmission, under a proposed scheme in accordance with the presentdisclosure, multiple starting positions (or time slots) may beconfigured by network node 130 for the transmission of a PUSCH/PUCCHburst. The starting position may be decided by first UE 110 based onresults of an LBT procedure performed by first UE 110.

With respect to the issue of PRACH transmission being blocked byPUSCH/PUCCH transmission, under a proposed scheme in accordance with thepresent disclosure, the PUSCH/PUCCH transmission by first UE 110 may bepreceded by a preamble for detection by second UE 120 so as to avoid theblocking issue. FIG. 9 illustrates an example scenario 900 of PRACHbeing not blocked by PUSCH in accordance with the proposed scheme. Part(A) of FIG. 9 shows the timing at network node 130 (denoted as “gNB”)and part (B) of FIG. 9 shows the timing at second UE 120 (denoted as“UE1”).

Under the proposed scheme, preamble may be cell-specific, and it may beconfigured by remaining minimum system information (RMSI) or radioresource control (RRC) signaling from network node 130. The preamble mayindicate the duration of the PUSCH/PUCCH transmission and/or anidentification (ID) of the serving cell for first UE 110 (e.g., an ID ofa cell corresponding to network node 130). Accordingly, second UE 120may detect the existence of the preamble before transmitting a PRACHpreamble and, thus, the PRACH would not be blocked due to the preambletransmitted by first UE 110 being detected by second UE 120. In an eventthat second UE 120 detects the preamble transmitted by first UE 110 andthat second UE 120 determines that the detected preamble belongs to theserving cell of second UE 120 while the intended PRACH transmission isat least partially inside the duration of the PUSCH/PUCCH transmissionby first UE 110 as indicated by the detected preamble, second UE 120 maytake either of two options. Under a first option, second UE 120 mayassume that the communication channel is idle (which is equivalent tosuccess of LBT) and thus may proceed with the PRACH transmission. Theassumption here is that network node 130 may have scheduled first UE 110and second UE 120 to transmit in different frequencies although in timedomain there may be an overlap. Under a second option, second UE 120 mayperform an LBT procedure before the transmission of its PRACH preambleand, upon a successful LBT (e.g., no transmission by first UE 110 or anyother UE being detected), proceed with the PRACH transmission.

Given the uncertainty of LBT and the regulatory requirement on occupiedchannel bandwidth (OCB), it may be beneficial to take UE multiplexingcapacity into the PUCCH design consideration. To overcome theuncertainty of LBT and improve spectral efficiency in the unlicensedband, a network may schedule UL transmission of multiple UEs within thesame channel occupancy time. However, due to the OCB requirement, thenumber of interlaces per symbol is limited. Thus, multiplexing more thanone PUCCH in the same resource may be necessary.

Under a proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, NRPUCCH format 2 and format 3 may be modified to support UE multiplexing.For instance, when performing a PUCCH transmission, a UE (e.g., first UE110) may perform the PUCCH transmission with orthogonal covering code(OCC) applied to a PUCCH format to support multiplexing. For instance,first UE 110 may perform the PUCCH transmission with the OCC applied toPUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing by code-divisionmultiplexing (CDM). The length of the OCC may be 2 or 4. To help betterappreciate advantages and benefits provided by the proposed scheme, FIG.2 illustrates an example scenario 200 in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure, and FIG. 3 illustrates anexample scenario 300 in accordance with an implementation of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, scenario 200 may involve modified PUCCH format 2(short PUCCH) with CDM 2/4. For CDM 2, for the data to be transmitted,the transmitting UE may apply the following OCCs: {1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1} and{1 −1 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1}. For CDM 2, the transmitting UE may transmit twoorthogonal reference signal (RS) sequences, with the length of thesequences depending on the bandwidth. For CDM 4, for the data to betransmitted, the transmitting UE may apply the following OCCs: {1 1 1 11 1 1 1}, {1 −j −1 j 1− j −1 j}, {1 −1 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1}, and {1 j −1 −j 1j −1 − A. For CDM 4, the transmitting UE may transmit four orthogonal RSsequences, with the length of the sequences depending on the bandwidth.

Referring to FIG. 3, scenario 300 may involve modified PUCCH format 2(short PUCCH) with CDM 2/4. Different from scenario 200, in scenario 300the RS is located at {0, 3, 6, 9}. Other than that, description abovewith respect to scenario 200 also applies to scenario 300.

Illustrative Implementations

FIG. 4 illustrates an example communication environment 400 having anexample apparatus 410 and an example apparatus 420 in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure. Each of apparatus 410 andapparatus 420 may perform various functions to implement schemes,techniques, processes and methods described herein pertaining to ULdesigns for NR-U operation in mobile communications, including variousschemes described above as well as processes 500 and 600 describedbelow.

Each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may be a part of an electronicapparatus, which may be a UE such as a vehicle, a portable or mobileapparatus, a wearable apparatus, a wireless communication apparatus or acomputing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus 410 and apparatus420 may be implemented in an electronic control unit (ECU) of a vehicle,a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, a digitalcamera, or a computing equipment such as a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer or a notebook computer. Each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420may also be a part of a machine type apparatus, which may be an IoT orNB-IoT apparatus such as an immobile or a stationary apparatus, a homeapparatus, a wire communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. Forinstance, each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may be implemented ina smart thermostat, a smart fridge, a smart door lock, a wirelessspeaker or a home control center. Alternatively, each of apparatus 410and apparatus 420 may be implemented in the form of one or moreintegrated-circuit (IC) chips such as, for example and withoutlimitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC)processors. Each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may include at leastsome of those components shown in FIG. 4 such as a processor 412 and aprocessor 422, respectively. Each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 mayfurther include one or more other components not pertinent to theproposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply,display device and/or user interface device), and, thus, suchcomponent(s) of each of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 are neithershown in FIG. 4 nor described below in the interest of simplicity andbrevity.

In some implementations, at least one of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420may be a part of an electronic apparatus, which may be a vehicle, aroadside unit (RSU), network node or base station (e.g., eNB, gNB orTRP), a small cell, a router or a gateway. For instance, at least one ofapparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may be implemented in a vehicle in avehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network, aneNodeB in an LTE, LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro network or in a gNBin a 5G, NR, IoT or NB-IoT network. Alternatively, at least one ofapparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may be implemented in the form of one ormore IC chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or moresingle-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one ormore CISC processors.

In one aspect, each of processor 412 and processor 422 may beimplemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one ormore multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is,even though a singular term “a processor” is used herein to refer toprocessor 412 and processor 422, each of processor 412 and processor 422may include multiple processors in some implementations and a singleprocessor in other implementations in accordance with the presentdisclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 412 and processor 422may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware)with electronic components including, for example and withoutlimitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or morecapacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or morememristors and/or one or more varactors that are configured and arrangedto achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure.In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor 412and processor 422 is a special-purpose machine specifically designed,arranged and configured to perform specific tasks including UL designsfor NR-U operation in mobile communications in accordance with variousimplementations of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, apparatus 410 may also include a transceiver416, as a communication device, coupled to processor 412 and capable ofwirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations,apparatus 410 may further include a memory 414 coupled to processor 412and capable of being accessed by processor 412 and storing data therein.In some implementations, apparatus 420 may also include a transceiver426, as a communication device, coupled to processor 422 and capable ofwirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations,apparatus 420 may further include a memory 424 coupled to processor 422and capable of being accessed by processor 422 and storing data therein.Accordingly, apparatus 410 and apparatus 420 may wirelessly communicatewith each other via transceiver 416 and transceiver 426, respectively.

To aid better understanding, the following description of theoperations, functionalities and capabilities of each of apparatus 410and apparatus 420 is provided in the context of a NR communicationenvironment in which apparatus 410 is implemented in or as a wirelesscommunication device, a communication apparatus or a UE (e.g., first UE110) and apparatus 420 is implemented in or as a wireless communicationdevice, a communication apparatus or another UE (e.g., second UE 120) ina network environment (e.g., network environment 100).

In one aspect of UL designs for NR-U operation in mobile communicationsin accordance with the present disclosure, processor 412 of apparatus410 (as first UE 110) may receive, via transceiver 416, from a networknode (e.g., network node 130) a scheduling of a plurality of startingslots for an UL transmission by apparatus 410. Additionally, processor412 may perform, via transceiver 416, a listen-before-talk (LBT)procedure. Moreover, processor 412 may perform, via transceiver 416, theUL transmission with an initial slot of the UL transmission in one ofthe plurality of starting slots based on a result of the LBT procedure.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission with theinitial slot of the UL transmission in one of the plurality of startingslots based on the result of the LBT procedure, processor 412 mayperform certain operations. For instance, processor 412 may select afirst starting slot of the plurality of starting slots to begin the ULtransmission responsive to the result of the LBT procedure indicating noother transmission in the first starting slot. Moreover, processor 412may select a second starting slot of the plurality of starting slotsafter the first starting slot to begin the UL transmission responsive tothe result of the LBT procedure indicating at least one othertransmission in the first starting slot.

In some implementations, the at least one other transmission may includea PRACH transmission by another apparatus (e.g., apparatus 420).

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, processor412 may perform the UL transmission with an initial slot of the ULtransmission preceded by a preamble. In some implementations, thepreamble may be cell-specific with respect to a cell with whichapparatus 410 is associated. In some implementations, the preamble maybe configured by RMSI or RRC signaling from the network node. In someimplementations, the preamble may indicate a duration of the ULtransmission. Alternatively, or additionally, the preamble may indicatean identification of a serving cell.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure, processor 412may perform certain operations. For instance, processor 412 may detectan existence of any preamble before performing the UL transmission.Based on a result of the detecting, processor 412 may perform the LBTprocedure before the UL transmission in response to a preambletransmitted by one other apparatus being detected. Alternatively,processor 412 may skip the LBT procedure before the UL transmission inresponse to no preamble being detected. In some implementations, the ULtransmission may include a PRACH transmission, a PUSCH transmission, aPUCCH transmission, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure, processor 412may perform the LBT procedure based on the preamble transmitted by oneother apparatus being detected plus on one or more of: (a) the detectedpreamble belonging to a same serving cell with which the apparatus isassociated; and (b) the UL transmission being within a duration of oneother UL transmission by the other apparatus as indicated in thepreamble. In some implementations, the UL transmission may include aPRACH transmission. In such cases, the other UL transmission may includea PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, or an SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, processor412 may perform a PUCCH transmission with OCC applied to a PUCCH formatto support multiplexing. In some implementations, in performing thePUCCH transmission with the OCC applied to the PUCCH format to supportmultiplexing, processor 412 may perform the PUCCH transmission with theOCC applied to PUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing byCDM. In some implementations, a length of the OCC may be 2 or 4.

In another aspect of UL designs for NR-U operation in mobilecommunications in accordance with the present disclosure, processor 422of apparatus 420 (as second UE 120) may detect, via transceiver 426, anexistence of any preamble transmitted by another apparatus (e.g.,apparatus 410). Based on a result of the detecting, processor 422 mayperform different operations. For instance, processor 422 may perform,via transceiver 426, an LBT procedure followed by an UL transmission inresponse to a preamble transmitted by one other apparatus (e.g.,apparatus 410) being detected. Alternatively, processor 422 may perform,via transceiver 426, the UL transmission without first performing theLBT procedure in response to no preamble being detected.

In some implementations, the UL transmission may include a PRACHtransmission. In such cases, the other UL transmission may include aPUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, or an SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure processor 422may perform the LBT procedure based on the preamble transmitted by oneother apparatus being detected plus on one or more of: (a) the detectedpreamble belonging to a same serving cell with which the apparatus isassociated; and (b) the UL transmission being within a duration of oneother UL transmission by the other apparatus as indicated in thepreamble. In such cases, the UL transmission may include a PRACHtransmission, and the other UL transmission may include a PUSCHtransmission, a PUCCH transmission, or an SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, processor422 may perform a PUCCH transmission with OCC applied to a PUCCH formatto support multiplexing. In some implementations, in performing thePUCCH transmission with the OCC applied to the PUCCH format to supportmultiplexing, processor 422 may perform the PUCCH transmission with theOCC applied to PUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing byCDM. In such cases, a length of the OCC may be 2 or 4.

Illustrative Processes

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure. Process 500 may be an exampleimplementation of the proposed schemes described above with respect toUL designs for NR-U operation in mobile communications in accordancewith the present disclosure. Process 500 may represent an aspect ofimplementation of features of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420. Process500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 510, 520 and 530. Althoughillustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 500 may bedivided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, oreliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, theblocks of process 500 may executed in the order shown in FIG. 5 or,alternatively, in a different order. Process 500 may also be repeatedpartially or entirely. Process 500 may be implemented by apparatus 410,apparatus 420 and/or any suitable wireless communication device, UE,roadside unit (RUS), base station or machine type devices. Solely forillustrative purposes and without limitation, process 500 is describedbelow in the context of apparatus 410 as one UE (e.g., first UE 110) andapparatus 420 as another UE (e.g., second UE 120) in a networkenvironment (e.g., network environment 100). Process 500 may begin atblock 510.

At 510, process 500 may involve processor 412 of apparatus 410 (as a UE)receiving, via transceiver 416, from a network node (e.g., network node130) a scheduling of a plurality of starting slots for an ULtransmission by apparatus 410. Process 500 may proceed from 510 to 520.

At 520, process 500 may involve processor 412 performing, viatransceiver 416, a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure. Process 500 mayproceed from 520 to 530.

At 530, process 500 may involve processor 412 performing, viatransceiver 416, the UL transmission with an initial slot of the ULtransmission in one of the plurality of starting slots based on a resultof the LBT procedure.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission with theinitial slot of the UL transmission in one of the plurality of startingslots based on the result of the LBT procedure, process 500 may involveprocessor 412 performing certain operations. For instance, process 500may involve processor 412 selecting a first starting slot of theplurality of starting slots to begin the UL transmission responsive tothe result of the LBT procedure indicating no other transmission in thefirst starting slot. Moreover, process 500 may involve processor 412selecting a second starting slot of the plurality of starting slotsafter the first starting slot to begin the UL transmission responsive tothe result of the LBT procedure indicating at least one othertransmission in the first starting slot.

In some implementations, the at least one other transmission may includea PRACH transmission by another apparatus (e.g., apparatus 420).

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, process 500may involve processor 412 performing the UL transmission with an initialslot of the UL transmission preceded by a preamble. In someimplementations, the preamble may be cell-specific with respect to acell with which apparatus 410 is associated. In some implementations,the preamble may be configured by RMSI or RRC signaling from the networknode. In some implementations, the preamble may indicate a duration ofthe UL transmission. Alternatively, or additionally, the preamble mayindicate an identification of a serving cell.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure, process 500may involve processor 412 performing certain operations. For instance,process 500 may involve processor 412 detecting an existence of anypreamble before performing the UL transmission. Based on a result of thedetecting, process 500 may involve processor 412 performing the LBTprocedure before the UL transmission in response to a preambletransmitted by one other apparatus being detected. Alternatively,process 500 may involve processor 412 skipping the LBT procedure beforethe UL transmission in response to no preamble being detected. In someimplementations, the UL transmission may include a PRACH transmission, aPUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, or a sounding reference signal(SRS) transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure, process 500may involve processor 412 performing the LBT procedure based on thepreamble transmitted by one other apparatus being detected plus on oneor more of: (a) the detected preamble belonging to a same serving cellwith which the apparatus is associated; and (b) the UL transmissionbeing within a duration of one other UL transmission by the otherapparatus as indicated in the preamble. In some implementations, the ULtransmission may include a PRACH transmission. In such cases, the otherUL transmission may include a PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission,or an SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, process 500may involve processor 412 performing a PUCCH transmission with OCCapplied to a PUCCH format to support multiplexing. In someimplementations, in performing the PUCCH transmission with the OCCapplied to the PUCCH format to support multiplexing, process 500 mayinvolve processor 412 performing the PUCCH transmission with the OCCapplied to PUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing by CDM. Insome implementations, a length of the OCC may be 2 or 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 in accordance with animplementation of the present disclosure. Process 600 may be an exampleimplementation of the proposed schemes described above with respect toUL designs for NR-U operation in mobile communications in accordancewith the present disclosure. Process 600 may represent an aspect ofimplementation of features of apparatus 410 and apparatus 420. Process600 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions asillustrated by one or more of blocks 610, 620 and 630. Althoughillustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 600 may bedivided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, oreliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, theblocks of process 600 may executed in the order shown in FIG. 6 or,alternatively, in a different order. Process 600 may also be repeatedpartially or entirely. Process 600 may be implemented by apparatus 410,apparatus 420 and/or any suitable wireless communication device, UE,RUS, base station or machine type devices. Solely for illustrativepurposes and without limitation, process 600 is described below in thecontext of apparatus 410 as one UE (e.g., first UE 110) and apparatus420 as another UE (e.g., second UE 120) in a network environment (e.g.,network environment 100). Process 600 may begin at block 610.

At 610, process 600 may involve processor 422 of apparatus 420 (as a UE)detecting, via transceiver 426, an existence of any preamble transmittedby another apparatus (e.g., apparatus 410). Based on a result of thedetecting, process 600 may proceed from 610 to either 620 or 630.

At 620, process 600 may involve processor 422 performing, viatransceiver 426, an LBT procedure followed by an UL transmission inresponse to a preamble transmitted by one other apparatus (e.g.,apparatus 410) being detected.

At 630, process 600 may involve processor 422 performing, viatransceiver 426, the UL transmission without first performing the LBTprocedure in response to no preamble being detected.

In some implementations, the UL transmission may include a PRACHtransmission. In such cases, the other UL transmission may include aPUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, or an SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the LBT procedure, process 600may involve processor 422 performing the LBT procedure based on thepreamble transmitted by one other apparatus being detected plus on oneor more of: (a) the detected preamble belonging to a same serving cellwith which the apparatus is associated; and (b) the UL transmissionbeing within a duration of one other UL transmission by the otherapparatus as indicated in the preamble. In such cases, the ULtransmission may include a PRACH transmission, and the other ULtransmission may include a PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, oran SRS transmission.

In some implementations, in performing the UL transmission, process 600may involve processor 422 performing a PUCCH transmission with OCCapplied to a PUCCH format to support multiplexing. In someimplementations, in performing the PUCCH transmission with the OCCapplied to the PUCCH format to support multiplexing, process 600 mayinvolve processor 422 performing the PUCCH transmission with the OCCapplied to PUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing by CDM. Insuch cases, a length of the OCC may be 2 or 4.

Additional Notes

The herein-described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

Further, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/orsingular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate fromthe plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims, e.g.,bodies of the appended claims, are generally intended as “open” terms,e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc. It will be further understood by those within theart that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only onesuch recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductoryphrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as“a” or “an,” e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more;” the same holds true for the use of definitearticles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited,those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number, e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at leasttwo recitations, or two or more recitations. Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the senseone having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “asystem having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc. In those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” wouldinclude but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, Calone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc. It will be further understood by those withinthe art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting twoor more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, ordrawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities ofincluding one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. Forexample, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include thepossibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various implementationsof the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the various implementations disclosed herein are notintended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicatedby the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a processorof an apparatus, from a network node a scheduling of a plurality ofstarting slots for an uplink (UL) transmission by the apparatus;performing, by the processor, a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure; andperforming, by the processor, the UL transmission with an initial slotof the UL transmission in one of the plurality of starting slots basedon a result of the LBT procedure.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theperforming of the UL transmission with the initial slot of the ULtransmission in one of the plurality of starting slots based on theresult of the LBT procedure comprises: selecting a first starting slotof the plurality of starting slots to begin the UL transmissionresponsive to the result of the LBT procedure indicating no othertransmission in the first starting slot; and selecting a second startingslot of the plurality of starting slots after the first starting slot tobegin the UL transmission responsive to the result of the LBT procedureindicating at least one other transmission in the first starting slot.3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one other transmissioncomprises a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission byanother apparatus.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing ofthe UL transmission comprises performing the UL transmission with aninitial slot of the UL transmission preceded by a preamble.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the preamble is cell-specific with respect toa cell with which the apparatus is associated.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein the preamble is configured by remaining minimum systeminformation (RMSI) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling from thenetwork node.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the preamble indicates aduration of the UL transmission.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thepreamble further indicates an identification of a serving cell.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the performing of the LBT procedurecomprises: detecting an existence of any preamble before performing theUL transmission; and based on a result of the detecting: performing theLBT procedure before the UL transmission responsive to a preambletransmitted by one other apparatus being detected; or skipping the LBTprocedure before the UL transmission responsive to no preamble beingdetected.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the UL transmissioncomprises a physical random channel (PRACH) transmission, a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH) transmission, or a sounding reference signal (SRS)transmission.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the performing of theLBT procedure comprises performing the LBT procedure based on thepreamble transmitted by one other apparatus being detected plus on oneor more of: the detected preamble belonging to a same serving cell withwhich the apparatus is associated; and the UL transmission being withina duration of one other UL transmission by the other apparatus asindicated in the preamble.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ULtransmission comprises a physical random channel (PRACH) transmission,and wherein the other UL transmission comprises a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) transmission, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)transmission, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the performing of the UL transmissioncomprises performing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)transmission with orthogonal covering code (OCC) applied to a PUCCHformat to support multiplexing.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theperforming of the PUCCH transmission with the OCC applied to the PUCCHformat to support multiplexing comprises performing the PUCCHtransmission with the OCC applied to PUCCH format 2 or format 3 tosupport multiplexing by code-division multiplexing (CDM).
 15. The methodof claim 13, wherein a length of the OCC is 2 or
 4. 16. A method,comprising: detecting, by a processor of an apparatus, an existence ofany preamble transmitted by another apparatus; and based on a result ofthe detecting: performing, by the processor, a listen-before-talk (LBT)procedure followed by an uplink (UL) transmission responsive to apreamble transmitted by one other apparatus being detected; orperforming, by the processor, the UL transmission without firstperforming the LBT procedure responsive to no preamble being detected.17. The method of claim 16, wherein the UL transmission comprises aphysical random channel (PRACH) transmission, a physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) transmission, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)transmission, or a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the performing of the LBT procedurecomprises performing the LBT procedure based on the preamble transmittedby one other apparatus being detected plus on one or more of: thedetected preamble belonging to a same serving cell with which theapparatus is associated; and the UL transmission being within a durationof one other UL transmission by the other apparatus as indicated in thepreamble, wherein the UL transmission comprises a physical randomchannel (PRACH) transmission, and wherein the other UL transmissioncomprises a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission, aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission, or a soundingreference signal (SRS) transmission.
 19. The method of claim 16, whereinthe performing of the UL transmission comprises performing a physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission with orthogonal coveringcode (OCC) applied to a PUCCH format to support multiplexing.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the performing of the PUCCH transmissionwith the OCC applied to the PUCCH format to support multiplexingcomprises performing the PUCCH transmission with the OCC applied toPUCCH format 2 or format 3 to support multiplexing by code-divisionmultiplexing (CDM), and wherein a length of the OCC is 2 or 4.